[Semester]
Abstract
This is a review of a paper called, “Are Humans the Source of Canine Mange? From the journal Parasites and Vectors. I reviewed the paper and determined that the study was both accurate and sound. The paper hypothesized that humans were the main reason for the spread of Sarcoptes scabiei in dogs and other canines. The results indicated that humans were not the main carriers of Sarcoptes scabiei to dogs and other canines and that further studies should be undertaken.
Are Humans the Initial Source of Canine Mange? Is a journal article written by Valerie Andriantsoanarina, Fang Fang, Frederic Ariey, Arezki Izri, Francoise Foulet, Francoise Botterel, Charlotte Berniguad, Olivier Chosidow, Weiyi Huang, Jacques Guillot and Remy Durand. It was written for the journal, Parasites and Vectors, in 2016.
The purpose of the research was to determine whether or not human beings are number one factor in the spread of canine mange. This research is important because of health reasons in both livestock and wildlife. If the main source of canine mange is discovered, it could dramatically lower the rates of infection (Andriantsoanarina et al. 1). Canine mange is a disease that mainly targets dogs and other canines such as wolves, coyotes, and foxes. It is carried by a species of mite call Sarcoptes scabiei. The disease is exceptionally contagious and causes symptoms such as itching, hair loss, and rashes on the skin ("Sarcoptic Mange in Dogs." 1).
In the study, the scientists hypothesized that S. scabiei originated on human hosts and were then transferred to dogs. They tested this hypothesis by first taking mite samples from canines between a series of different sites. Some of these sites were not located in France, but in other countries. These mites were obtained directly from dogs and foxes. Then they amplified and sequenced genes and compared them with mites taken from humans, raccoons, and foxes. In order to analyze the results, the researchers used Maximum Liklihood and Bayesian Inference. Using Network v4.6, a haplotype network was used in order to visualize the relationships (Andriantsoanarina et al. 1).
The results of the study were inconsistent with the researcher’s hypothesis. They didn’t show any consistent evidence that the origins of S. scabiei began with a human host. Based on the two analysis systems – Maximum Liklihood and Bayesian Inference – the differences in node support values were few. Because of these results, it can be speculated that the mites could have psychogenetic relatedness. This means that some of the mites found on the subjects could have been related and therefore had the potential to skew the results. Researchers suggested to re-evaluate the transmission probability from humans to dogs (Andriantsoanarina et al. 4).
I picked this study because I have a passion for diseases that can transfer from humans to other species and vice versa. The idea that an organism as tiny as a mite is capable of adapting itself in order to survive not only one type of hosts, but many, is fascinating. That the small S. scabiei is capable of such an immense impact on any animal seems impossible, but it has devastated entire populations of coyotes, wolves, and dogs by causing skin problems, hair loss, and other such things. When I discovered this study on whether human beings were the main reason for transferring S. scabiei to dogs or not, I needed to do more research. I found that there are a number of different articles written about this pesky mite, but not very many attempting to connect humans with infections in dogs. That the study proved the hypothesis wrong doesn’t surprise me. There are a limited number of resources allotting to this subject, and far more studies on this particular hypothesis should be done in the future. As for how the study impacted me, I learned a great deal about an organism that I previously knew very little about. It has influenced me to want to try similar studies and perhaps even delve into microbiology or parasitology.
Works Cited
Valerie Andriantsoanarina, Fang Fang, Frederic Ariey, Arezki Izri, Francoise Foulet, Francoise Botterel, Charlotte Berniguad, Olivier Chosidow, Weiyi Huang, Jacques Guillot and Remy Durand. “Are Humans the Initial Source of Canine Mange?” Parasites and Vectors 9.1 (2016). Web.
"Sarcoptic Mange in Dogs." - Symptoms & Treatment. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
